Surgical treatment of theintersex condition in the dog

Intersexuality is a rare congenital condition that leads to the development of an ambiguous urogenital tract. Removal of the reproductive tract is recommended to avoid genital diseases; however there is scant information about the procedure. The objective of this report is to describe the surgical procedure used to treat the canine intersex condition. Surgical corrections were performed on four intersex dogs: three 78 XX SRY-negative (one bilateral ovotestis, two sertolicell-only syndrome) and one 78 XX SRY-positive (sertolicell-only syndrome). Despite the different genetic and histological features, the anatomical characteristics were similar. The patients presented a vulva that lacked of dorsal fold placed ventrocranially to its anatomically normal position, a hypertrophied os clitoris protruding from the vulva and a urinary opening near to its normal position in the bitch..

Disintegration in compost conditions and water uptake of green composites from poly(lactic acid) and hazelnut shell flour

[EN] Green composites of poly(lactic acid)-PLA and hazelnut shell flour (HSF) with and without epoxidized linseed oil (ELO) as plasticizer/compatibilizer were subjected to different aging conditions such as water uptake by immersion and disintegration in compost soil. The effect of the hydrolytic degradation was analyzed by measuring the weight gain as a function of the immersion time in water and calculating the corresponding diffusion coefficients. As expected, the water diffusion coefficient increases with HSF content while no remarkable change is obtained for plasticized compositions with ELO. Differential scanning calorimetry reveals a noticeable increase in crystallinity after the degradation process by water immersion. Degradation in controlled compost soil was followed thorough measurements of weight changes. In general, the weight change for a particular degradation time is lower as the HSF content increases. In addition, presence of ELO as plasticizer/compatibilizer delays the degradation process in compost soil. Scanning electron microscopy highlighted a noticeable deterioration of aged samples after 2 weeks with multiple crack formation and high surface abrasion due to microbial activity after 4 weeks.This research was supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness - MINECO, Ref: MAT2014-59242-C2-1-R. Authors also thank to "Conselleria d'Educacio, Cultura i Esport" - Generalitat Valenciana, Ref: GV/2014/008 for financial support.Balart, J.; Montanes, N.; Fombuena, V.; Boronat, T.; Sanchez-Nacher, L. (2018). Disintegration in compost conditions and water uptake of green composites from poly(lactic acid) and hazelnut shell flour. 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Not so different after all: Properties and spatial structure of column density peaks in the pipe and Orion A clouds

We present a comparative study of the physical properties and the spatial distribution of column density peaks in two giant molecular clouds (GMCs), the Pipe Nebula and Orion A, which exemplify opposite cases of star cluster formation stages. The density peaks were extracted from dust extinction maps constructed from Herschel/SPIRE far-infrared images. We compare the distribution functions for dust temperature, mass, equivalent radius, and mean volume density of peaks in both clouds, and made a more fair comparison by isolating the less active Tail region in Orion A and by convolving the Pipe Nebula map to simulate placing it at a distance similar to that of the Orion Complex. The peak mass distributions for Orion A, the Tail, and the convolved Pipe have similar ranges, sharing a maximum near 5 M and a similar power-law drop above 10 M. Despite the clearly distinct evolutive stage of the clouds, there are very important similarities in the physical and spatial distribution properties of the column density peaks, pointing to a scenario where they form as a result of uniform fragmentation of filamentary structures across the various scales of the cloud, with density being the parameter leading the fragmentation, and with clustering being a direct result of thermal fragmentation at different spatial scales. Our work strongly supports the idea that the formation of clusters in GMC could be the result of the primordial organization of pre-stellar material

Fatty Acids in the Meat of Buffaloes Supplemented with Fish Oil

The purpose of this study has been to investigate the influence of both a supplementary fish oil diet on conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and n6 and n3 fatty acids on intramuscular fat in Mediterranean buffalo meat. Twenty animals were randomly divided into two groups and fed with Brachiaria brizantha, 3Kg rice bran, 500 g corn and 500 g sunflower pellets for 60 days. Group I received this diet only while in group II each animal received additional 100 ml fish oil daily. Results indicated a significant decrease of palmitic fatty acid in group II (232.67 mg/g fat) in relation to group I (254.73 mg/g fat). Among unsaturated acids (AGI), the 9c 11t CLA value of group II (21.23 mg/g fat) showed an increase in relation to group I (15.80 mg/g fat), while the linoleic acid content of group II (28,85 mg/g fat) decreased significantly in relation to group I (47,00 mg/g fat). However, the alpha linolenic acid showed no significant difference between the supplemented diet group and the control group (10.31 and 10.70 mg/g fat, respectively). Group II n6/n3 ratio was narrower (2.69:1) than that of group I (4.55:1). Summing up, group II diet, which included fish oil, increased the CLA content in intramuscular fat and decreased the n6 fatty acids, improving the n6/n3 ratio

Accuracy of a method based on atomic absorption spectrometry to determine inorganic arsenic in food : Outcome of the collaborative trial IMEP-41

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Switching ferroelectric domain configurations using both electric and magnetic fields in Pb(Zr,Ti)O3–Pb(Fe,Ta)O3 single-crystal lamellae

Thin single-crystal lamellae cut from Pb(Zr,Ti)O(3)–Pb(Fe,Ta)O(3) ceramic samples have been integrated into simple coplanar capacitor devices. The influence of applied electric and magnetic fields on ferroelectric domain configurations has been mapped, using piezoresponse force microscopy. The extent to which magnetic fields alter the ferroelectric domains was found to be strongly history dependent: after switching had been induced by applying electric fields, the susceptibility of the domains to change under a magnetic field (the effective magnetoelectric coupling parameter) was large. Such large, magnetic field-induced changes resulted in a remanent domain state very similar to the remanent state induced by an electric field. Subsequent magnetic field reversal induced more modest ferroelectric switching

E-MIS validity applied to TELMA enhanced learning environment

Enhanced learning environments are arising with great success within the field of cognitive skills training in minimally invasive surgery (MIS) because they provides multiple benefits since they avoid time, spatial and cost constraints. TELMA [1,2] is a new technology enhanced learning platform that promotes collaborative and ubiquitous training of surgeons. This platform is based on four main modules: an authoring tool, a learning content and knowledge management system, an evaluation module and a professional network. TELMA has been designed and developed focused on the user; therefore it is necessary to carry out a user validation as final stage of the development. For this purpose, e-MIS validity [3] has been defined. This validation includes usability, contents and functionality validities both for the development and production stages of any e-Learning web platform. Using e-MIS validity, the e-Learning is fully validated since it includes subjective and objective metrics. The purpose of this study is to specify and apply a set of objective and subjective metrics using e-MIS validity to test usability, contents and functionality of TELMA environment within the development stage

Light signals generated by vegetation shade facilitate acclimation to low light in shade-avoider plants

[EN] When growing in search for light, plants can experience continuous or occasional shading by other plants. Plant proximity causes a decrease in the ratio of R to far-red light (low R:FR) due to the preferential absorbance of R light and reflection of FR light by photosynthetic tissues of neighboring plants. This signal is often perceived before actual shading causes a reduction in photo-synthetically active radiation (low PAR). Here, we investigated how several Brassicaceae species from different habitats respond to low R:FR and low PAR in terms of elongation, photosynthesis, and photoacclimation. Shade-tolerant plants such as hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) displayed a good adaptation to low PAR but a poor or null response to low R:FR exposure. In contrast, shade-avoider species, such as Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), showed a weak photosynthetic performance under low PAR but they strongly elongated when exposed to low R:FR. These responses could be genetically uncoupled. Most interestingly, exposure to low R:FR of shade-avoider (but not shade-tolerant) plants improved their photoacclimation to low PAR by triggering changes in photosynthesis-related gene expression, pigment accumulation, and chloroplast ultrastructure. These results indicate that low R:FR signaling unleashes molecular, metabolic, and developmental responses that allow shade-avoider plants (including most crops) to adjust their photosynthetic capacity in anticipation of eventual shading by nearby plants.L.M. received a predoctoral fellowships from La Caixa Foundation (INPhINIT fellowship LCF/BQ/IN18/11660004). W.Q. is a recipient of a predoctoral Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC) fellowship. A.I.-S. is supported by a predoctoral fellowship from MICINN (PRE2018-083610). I.F.-S. has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 753301. Our research is supported by grants from MICINN-FEDER (BIO2017-85316-R, and BIO2017-84041-P) and AGAUR (2017-SGR1211, 2017-SGR710 and Xarba) to J.F.M.-G. and M.R.-C. We also acknowledge the support of the MINECO for the "Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa 2016-2019" award SEV-2015-0533 and by the CERCA Programme/Generalitat de Catalunya.Morelli, L.; Paulisic, S.; Qin, W.; Iglesias-Sanchez; Roig-Villanova, I.; Florez-Sarasa, I.; Rodriguez Concepción, M.... (2021). Light signals generated by vegetation shade facilitate acclimation to low light in shade-avoider plants. Plant Physiology (Online). 186(4):2137-2151. https://doi.org/10.1093/plphys/kiab206S21372151186

Adaptación de la usabilidad del entorno de formación TELMA a las necesidades de los cirujanos expertos

Uno de los principales inconvenientes manifestados por los cirujanos a la hora de llevar a cabo su formación continuada es la elevada carga asistencial que les limita la posibilidad de asistir a cursos y estancias presenciales. Por tanto, los cirujanos necesitan otros métodos formativos distintos a la formación in situ y para ello son de gran utilidad las tecnologías web, como es el caso de la plataforma de e-Learning TELMA, que ofrezcan contenidos didácticos adaptados a cada usuario para que puedan complementar su formación con contenidos multimedia online. Estudios previos de validación de TELMA detectaron diferentes problemas respecto a su diseño y usabilidad, propiciando mayores dificultades de accesibilidad para los cirujanos expertos en relación a los cirujanos noveles. Para corregirlos, en este trabajo se han analizado las deficiencias encontradas y se han propuesto una serie de medidas fundamentadas en un conjunto de directivas de diseño web que se deberían adoptar en futuras versiones de la plataforma TELMA para tratar de solventar estas desigualdades, ofreciendo a todos los usuarios tanto expertos como noveles, las mismas facilidades de accesibilidad